Sentinel's Riobot Falcon Armor X figure has been available in Japan for some time. But for folks who didn't want to import it for a pretty penny, they turned to BigBadToyStore for domestic shipping.
Sadly, it appears that's no longer a viable option: they're canceling pre-orders.
The following message was sent by BBTS to customers who previously pre-ordered the figure:
Long story short, BBTS were unable to secure stock because their vendor "discontinued" the figure. BBTS have no other choice but to cancel pre-orders.
The circumstances behind the vendor's decision to cease production were not disclosed. However, the on-going supply chain crisis is a likely suspect. It's pretty much a giant traffic jam of cargo ships containing everything from cars and electronics to clothing and toys. It's impacting multiple industries and retailers. The parts needed to produce Riobot X, let alone the resources needed to ship the thing stateside, may very well remain stuck at sea.
Now, if you really, really want the figure... you may have to risk importing it. That or buy it secondhand from someone within the U.S. Neither option will come cheap, I'm afraid.
Whichever route you go with, good luck!
(Thanks to Twitch for the tip!)
i got it on amazon no problem months ago like in feb. It was 150 at the time. Right now the price is at 200 unfortunately 😕 with the lack of supply it will prb go up more which is a shame. Hopefully restock will happen so others can purchase it.
ReplyDeleteEither that, or someone ends up selling it second-hand down the line at a somewhat reduced price. That's how I ended up getting D-arts Vile/VAVA since there hasn't been a re-release for him in a while.
DeleteWhat a complete mess.
ReplyDeleteI have stuff that was supposed to arrive from BBTS months ago showing up now.
I've been shopping with BBTS for years, and this is literally always the case. Domestic stuff from BBTS is at least the month after their posted estimate, and imports are usually two months later or more. Overseas shipping complications -- container ships backed-up on the California coast -- and the recent USPS 30% slow-down are compounding it, but I have scarcely received anything from BBTS during their posted arrival month.
DeleteFortunately I had my Falcon Armor order through Nin-Nin Game and received it months ago, but I also have stuff BBTS said would ship in August which I have not received.
I had it pre-ordered on BBTS for several months but then I got tired of waiting and imported it from Ami Ami. The price was basically the same, if no cheaper and it arrived quickly. Good thing I did that on time.
ReplyDeleteAmiAmi is great, as are a lot of the Japanese-based companies right now because they are using reliable/efficient international couriers like DHL instead of USPS. Every time I order from Ami, Mandarake, etc. I get it within a week or two.
DeleteI recently canceled some BBTS orders too because those things started appearing at local shops before BBTS said they were available.
My imported Falcon X was actually cheaper than BBTS after shipping. (It was a pre-order though, so I think I saved some there.)
ReplyDeleteWhile BBTS does offer "domestic shipping," they also have to import those items, so they add their cost to import to the items before their domestic shipping cost. Imports from BBTS are often more expensive than just importing yourself, so the only time I buy imports from BBTS is when I missed overseas availability.
Just got that e-mail a few days ago. It's been so long now that I did the pre-order and I don`t even know if I'm still willing to get it from somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteI do enjoy this figure, but the TruForce figure is more fun and better executed.
DeleteComing from someone who has it: don't beat yourself up trying to get the Falcon Armor.
I have the TruForce X ver ke figure and I like it. Didn't know it was better made than the Falcon armor, as the Falcon is way more expensive. Thanks' for the info on it.
DeleteSame manufacturer, too; both Truforce and Falcon Armor are made by Sentinel. Falcon Armor actually has fewer accessories because it doesn't have blast effect parts.
DeleteI think the Falcon Armor is more expensive due to the involvement of artist/designer Eiichi Shimizu, who probably gets a cut from each figure or something. TruForce has fine-line detailing and little tampography marks, whereas the Falcon has neither of those things. TruForce has window box, but Falcon doesn't. They both have the same kind of light-up buster feature.
This item had so many issues from the beginning. The battery it shipped with made even importing it a nightmare that took months because of the shipping service they were forced to use. That thing basically picked the worst possible time to release
ReplyDeleteHi buddy.. can you explain further the issue with battery that made it an importing nightmare? Im curious coz i just bit the bullet yesterday and bought it from japanese amazon.. i had it on preorder at bbts.. now got this email about my order being cancelled.
DeleteI had no issues importing mine months ago. Maybe ColeManX is talking about why it was pushed-back initially, and that the battery impacted shipping from the factory to the distributor?
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